House Hemlock
House Hemlock is a Celestial Great House notorious for its role within the Mortal Mythical War. It is also a historically important house and one of the few major nephilim houses found outside of the city of Enoch. House Hemlock is also well-known for its adherence to traditional angelic and nephilim beliefs, giving many the impression that it is a more politically conservative organization. House Hemlock's traditional House Seat is located just outside of Munich in the German state of Bavaria. Its founder is the archangel Raphael. Notable members of this house include its current head, Remus Hoftstadt Hemlock, as well as Cassandra and Matthias Morgan. Sigil and House Colors The sigil for House Hemlock is the a double-headed golden eagle, symbolizing perspicacity, courage, and swiftness. Originally, the sigil was a single-headed eagle, but the double-head was adapted historically as the family settled into its house seat within the Holy Roman Empire during the middle ages. The popularity and historical significance of this sigil is very similar to the use of eagles in mortal dynastic sigils as well. The house colors are royal blue and silver. Values House Hemlock is well-known for its conservative, more traditional values; the religious belief and practice of Celestrisim is very important to members of the house. Ancient celestial holidays and ceremonies are still practiced within House Hemlock as these traditions begin to die out within other nephilim houses and communities across the globe. As a result, House Hemlock has something of a reputation for being very much against the integration of nephilim and mortal cultural practices. This explains the secluded nature of the House Seat; House Hemlock is found in a very remote settlement within the Bavarian Alps. This also reflects some of the other values which the House holds dear: preservation and non-conformity. Physical strength is also very important to House Hemlock. Traditional celestial pyromantic techniques and seraphimic swordplay are thought to be very important by members of this house. House Sword Like many of the nephilim Great Houses, House Hemlock also possesses an ancestral seraphimic weapon. The sword, Brimstone, is very old but considered to be one of the most powerful seraph broadswords still in existence. It is thought to be the twin of Bright Star, the sword of House Morningstar. The swords were forged together of the same materials and are wielded in very similar fashion. The sword was first made for a son of the archangel Raphael, who eventually fell as a result of having nephilim offspring. The sword has been passed down to the Heads of the house for generations now, and is currently wielded by Remus. There is some controversy within the house now as to whether or not the sword should be given to the next oldest successor the house, Cassandra, as she is also the current holder of The Bright Star. This has caused some conflict within the older generation of the house, who believe House Hemlock and House Morningstar should not merge, as it would mean the dissolving of the house's values and the loss of its ancestral lands in Bavaria.